What action is the Welsh Government taking to address the current shortage of rental properties across Wales?
The UK Conservative government’s legacy of Right to Buy and their pervasive view of houses as assets rather than homes has created the foundation for the current crisis.
This Welsh government has prioritised social housing – committing to delivering 20,000 new low carbon homes for social rent in this Senedd term. We are supporting our councils to build again and have invested a record £310 million in social housing this year alone. We are driving up standards in the private rented sector with the introduction of the Renting Homes Act on 1st December.
Our Leasing Scheme Wales was launched in January 2022, with funding of £30 million over five years, which will improve access to longer-term affordable housing in the private rental sector. Landlords on the scheme lease their properties to local authorities in return for a rent guarantee of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate.
Capital funding is available to improve the properties, including up to £25,000 grant funding to bring empty properties onto the scheme. Void periods are covered, as are any repairs to the property beyond normal wear and tear.
As a result of nearly £43m recyclable funding from Welsh Government, interest-free loans are available from local authorities for landlords (and others) to renovate empty properties and bring them back into use (including turning commercial properties into houses or flats). Landlords can access loans of up to £35,000 per unit or £250,000 per application and the ongoing scheme has been used to bring back around 1,400 homes into use across Wales.